So, yeah, it’s been another month, and my foray into the (for yours truly) previously neglected corners of European power metal continues, with the new heavyweights of airplay shifting from long beloved acts like Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica, Alestorm and early Hammerfall to settle in on the unholy triumvirate of Edguy, Elvenking…and Powerwolf.*

* well, since this intro was written, the powerfully vocalled Brainstorm, who also did all their good work after moving to AFM, by the way (hell, I’d venture that not only is Midnight Ghost worthy of being noted as album of the year, but as a career pinnacle) has moved up to make this very much of a foursome…but even so.

Well, some of the more astute Third Eye regulars may have predicted it…but it’s always a surprise when you’re the protagonist of the story, living out the script day after day, until the next eye opening revelation hits.

Hey, it’s just about month end, and here we are again, our monthly gathering of the sacred and profane in celebration of the plethora of releases passed down to we the listening audience from…er…other parts of the same audience, given just how many of us are musicians ourselves.

By now, you’ve probably noticed these are coming through a week or two later than usual, as headlines themselves may suggest.

So it happens that all of a sudden, you’re seeing February reviews at the start of March, March ones at the start of April…hey. Life gets in the way, and for someone who’s ostensibly out of the corporate workforce of late, it’s been at least twice as busy – working on the reboot of a certain podcast only being a small part thereof.

But even more than that, there’s been a welcome increase in folks coming to us, offering up their rosters for our delectation and dissection…or if you prefer, to the vagaries of critical review, in our patented honest, straightforward, incisive and idiosyncratic manner.

Like I always tell my wife, love us or hate us, you sure as hell ain’t gonna find nobody else like us. Selah.

Well, one year on and the tide would seem to finally be turning. The wheels of progress move too damn slowly, sometimes, but at least they’re back trying to move after far too many months in utter stasis (if not a horrifying, Lovecraftian regress).

Even more than the expected season of renewal that marks the feast of Samhain, there have been some major changes – some good, some bad, some as yet undetermined in whether their pending impact will serve for good or ill…and yet, all of them exceedingly wide in scope and far ranging in prospect.